For the First Time – Digitally Released As High Resolution Downloads 192kHz/24bit Classic Soul Titles from the Archives of Atlantic Records and Rhino Records.

With the music scene rapidly evolving, Wilson Pickett delivered a versatile outing with the release of Hey Jude. Produced by the legendary Rick Hall, the work incorporates some of rock’s finest tunes including “Born To Be Wild” and the Lennon & McCartney classic, “Hey Jude.” Displayed with funky arrangements, Pickett is joined by one of Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” Duane Allman. Found here is material penned by greats including Bobby Womack, Raymond Moore, Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Hey Jude remains another accomplishment in an illustrious career.

Wilson Pickett and the Muscle Shoals session crew with whom he cut most of his best work thankfully had the good sense to not try to go psychedelic when the pop charts went all day-glo in the late 1960’s, but that’s not to say they didn’t make an effort to change with the times. On Hey Jude, Pickett and producer Rick Hall decided to throw a couple of recent rock covers into the mix, and while Pickett’s version of “Hey Jude” suggests that he isn’t entirely sure what it is he’s singing about, he still belts it out with his typical level of commitment and builds up to a proper fury at the end; he sounds more comfortable with the neo-biker bombast of “Born To Be Wild”, a combination of artist and material that works far better than anyone would have a right to expect. But the most notable change in Pickett’s approach for this album was the addition of Duane Allman on guitar; his wirey, blues-accented leads don’t overpower the album, but they add a noticeably harder texture to the sound, and that seems to suit Pickett, one of the toughest soul shouters of his time, just fine. Most of the Hey Jude is dominated by hard Southern soul numbers like “A Man and a Half” and “Toe Hold”, and Pickett, one of the most dependable performers on the 1960’s soul scene, gives a typically con brio performance on all ten tracks, and the sharp report of the horn section and Allman’s blistering guitar makes for music just as potent as the wail of the lead singer, which is not an accomplishment to be sneered at. ~~ AllMusic Review by Mark Deming